Ignition indicating and detecting device



.gully 1924@ 112.//I .lll

1500,@88 M. J. NEUNER ET AL IGNITION INDICATING AND DETEGTING DEVCE Filed July 27 1922 A Troie/Veys Patented .lluly l, 1924.

we, Frlc MARTIN J'. NEUNER AND ALBERT A..IIABERMANN, OF NORTH BERGEN, NEW JERSEY.

IGNITION INDICATING- AND DETECTING DEVICE.

Application filed July 27, 1922. Serial No. 577,836.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, MARTIN J. NEUNEP. and ALBERT A. HABERMANN, citizens of the United States, and residents of North Bergen, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Ignition Indicating and Detecting Device, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a device for indicating and detecting the condition of the ignition circuit of an automobile or similar mechanism.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple, efiicient and durable apparatus which can be readily mounted on the instrument board of an automobile or disposed in any similar location with respect to any ignition circuit so that the condition of said circuit can be readily observed and indicated.

Another object resides in the provision of means whereby at the will of the operator the proper sparking of the plug in an ignition circuit can be readily observed by an illuminated device on the dashor instrumentboard and whereby a defective plug can be very readily detected.

A further object resides in the particular construction and arrangement ofm parts which are hereinafter describedand claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings.

The invention is illustrated in the drawings, of which- Figure 1 is a front View of the device applied to the instrument-board of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2 2 Of l Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. n

Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram of the apparatus.

The form ofthe invention shown in the drawings is a preferred form, although it is understood that modifications in the construction and arrangement 'of the parts and in thecharacter of the materials used may be adopted without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The preferred` form of the invention as shown in the drawings involves the application of a suitable cuplike casing 1 to an opening in the instrument-board 2. This casing is provided with a transparent cover 3 held on by a suitable anged ring 4 provided with ears 5 through which fastening screws 6 extend to hold the device on the board 2. The casing is divided by a partition 7 into two chambers in each of which a set of spring terminal clips such as 8 is provided. These` sets of clips are adaptedY to receive respectively in the upper and lower chambers, as viewed in Fig. 1, a tube 9, preferably filled with some gas, such has argon gas, and a tube 10 preferably evacuated and provided with spark-gap terminals 11 and 12. These tubes are provided on their ends with conducting caps such as 13 to make contact between the terminal clips 8 and the interior of the tubes. The fuselike arrangement of these tubes permit them readily to be inserted and removed from the clips.

Each of the clips is provided with a stub shaft 14 extending through the rear of the casing, and suitable binding posts 15 are adapted to hold circuit wires such as 26 in place thereon. The terminal clips 8 for the upper chamber and its tube are also provided with strips 16 and 17 extending therefrom toward each other. The ends of these strips are spaced slightly apart to provide a gap which can and is adapted to be bridged by a plate 18 carried on the end of a shaft 19 into which the threaded end 20 of a shaft 21 extends. The outer end of this shaft 21 is provided with a knob or handle 22 adapting it to be turned in one or another position. 4 The plate 18 is pressed forward by a spring 23 tending to hold the plate 18 across the end of the strips 16 and 17, whereby the upper tube 9 is during this time short circuited. The shaft 21 slides in a bushing 24 mounted on the casing 1, and on the face of this bushing there is provided struck-up' portions such as 25 somewhat elevated from` the face of the bushing, and an inner shoulder formed on the knob 22 can rest on this elevated portion 25 when the arm is pulled out against the action f the spring 23. In this position of the knob 22, the contact plate 18 is separated from the end of the strips 16 and 17 so that the current will flow through and 12 which when a suicient potential is placed across them will produce a spark which is visible through the glass cover 3.

In the circuit arrangement shown in Fig. 4, the usual coil is shown provided with a primary Winding 27 and a secondary 'wind ing 28. Said primary is connected to a battery 29 through interrupter contacts 30 bridged by a condenser 31.. The secondary is connected to one end of the primary, and at the other end to one of the terminal clips 8 connected with the upper tube. There is provided the usual distributor 32, the rotating arm of which is connected b-y a wire 33 to the other side of the upper tube 9. One end of the lower tube 10 is connected by a wire 34 to a ground. The other end or" said lower tube is connected through a strip 35 to a wire 36 connected to the secondary of the ignition coil. From a consideration of this circuit it will be evident that as long as all the spark plugs are working properly the current will pass through the wire 36, around the by-pass of the upper tube 9, through the distributor. Vhenever it is desired to observe the action of the plug, the knob 22 is raised, elevating the plate 18 away from the strips 16 and 17 so that the current generated in each spark plug circuit will cause successive illumination of the gas within the upper tube. If at any time during the operation of the device one of the plugs should miss fire, thel potential generated will pass across between the gap wires 11 and 12 and thence go to ground. Therefore, if at any time it is observed that a spark is being generated in the lower tube, this indication means that one of the plugs is defective.

We have, therefore, provided a simple and elicient device which can be placed very readily in a convenient position on the instrument-board of a vehicle, such as an automobile, or similar device, and by means of which instrument the condition of the ignition circuit at any and all times can be readily observed.

Vhat we claim is:

An ignition detector device which includes a cup-shaped casing having a dividing Wall or partition therein, a pair of spring clips in each section of the casing, a gas-filled tube adapted to be supported between one set of clips, a glass enclosed spark gap to be sup` ported between the other pair of clips, a shunt connected with they clips supporting the gas filled tube, and manually operated means for opening said shunt, said means connected to the front of the casing.

MARTIN J. NEUNER. ALBERT HABERMALNN. 

